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Kansas City will host three of the world's top soccer teams as Argentina, England and the Netherlands make their base camps in the area during the FIFA World Cup 26. They will bring unprecedented international attention and thousands of fans to the area.
The city also will host six World Cup matches, including a quarterfinal game.
"Kansas City is going to see something they've never seen before," said Daniel Oordt, a Dutch fan who has attended every Netherlands national team game since 2015 — except during the pandemic.
Christian Crivelli, an Argentine fan planning another World Cup trip, expects a massive showing from his countrymen.
"The city is going to be painted light blue and white," Crivelli said."They'll notice us"
Both fans have been following their national teams since the 2014 World Cup. This summer will mark Crivelli's fourth World Cup with Argentina and Oordt's third with the Netherlands.
Fan expectations and travel challenges
While fans are excited about the base camps, they don't expect much interaction with players during the tournament.
"In the last two World Cups especially, that was very strict," Crivelli said, referring to security around team facilities.
The Argentine fan explained the cultural pressure surrounding his national team.
"If we do something with the players and then Argentina loses, that's a national catastrophe," Crivelli said.
Oordt agreed that player access will likely be limited.
"Everything's pretty regimented throughout the tournament from past experience and I would expect no different this year," Oordt said. "Hey, maybe it will be a little bit different this year. I'm not sure. Every World Cup brings its own experiences."
Economic impact and media attention
Kathy Nelson, president and CEO of Visit KC, expects the base camps to bring more visitors to Kansas City.
"When we started working on this bid years and years ago, I don't think any of us could have ever imagined that we would have three pot one teams and three of the top seven teams in the world have selected Kansas City to call home during this," Nelson said.
The base camps will bring significant media coverage to Kansas City.
"That's advertising, media and exposure for our city that we just can't even buy," Nelson said.
Jake Reid, president and CEO of Sporting Kansas City, said the exposure will benefit the local soccer club long-term.
"You get all the players from England here, Argentina here, the coaches here? They're going to go back, tell their agents, tell their teammates. I mean, I think all those things are great for Kansas City," Reid said.
Fan gatherings and local impact
While most fans focus their travels around game days, some may visit during base camp periods to be near their teams.
"They want to be together with like-minded people," Nelson said.
However, Crivelli doesn't expect widespread fan visits to base camps.
"I don't see that as widespread behavior," Crivelli said.
Oordt typically arrives three to four days before Netherlands matches, starting his game day ritual early.
"My game day usually starts. I have a ritual as I do. The suit gets worn the night before and then at 5 a.m., I'm up and you know, we get the Dutch music going. And by 7 a.m., we're partying," Oordt said.
The World Cup represents a major opportunity to showcase Kansas City.
"This is a great opportunity to really be on the global stage," Oordt said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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